


Rumor Has It

by kopfkino



Category: Football RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Angst, Free day, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Romantic Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, Selfies, Twitter, boyfriends picnic, date, italy date, poor thomas misses miro too much, seriously you'll all die, this will probably have a happy ending, transfer rumors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-10 21:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3303359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kopfkino/pseuds/kopfkino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Rumors are like lightning on summer tinder, producing flames that dance in flickering brilliance from person to person, sometimes flaring in great conflagrations of exaggeration before finally extinguishing themselves in the cold waters of fact."</p><p>No one ever really listens to transfer rumors, especially not football players... Unless you're Thomas Müller and the rumor involves Miroslav Klose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  * **Oct 15, 2014**



Missing someone you love is hard. Probably one of the hardest things ever to exist. 

 _It's strange_ , Thomas thinks, how much his heart can miss him. He tries to not think about him all the time: when he's on the field with the team, he focuses on the gamd for a while (or Pep would have his head on a spike). When the crowds cheer 'Mia San Mia' he truly feels happy to be in his home club... even if he's constantly wondering what's going on at Rome at the same time. More than Rome, he wonders what he is doing. Is he eating? Is he sleeping? Is he happy? Is he sad? Thomas knows he goes to bed at 9 pm, hates staying up late, which makes him even happier when he receives those late 10 pm phone calls after his game to congratulate him on how well he played.

Even if Thomas didn't think he played that well, he's always there to remind him to believe in himself. 

Thomas was known to be especially excited for international breaks. But lately, he's not in the mood. He was still excited of course, but it was like something was missing. Something is missing, and Thomas knows exactly who it is. Why did footballers have to retire so early? Why couldn't they stay forever. Watching Lukas and Basti together didn't exactly help either, regardless of how happy Thomas was for his friends.

"Everyone misses him too." Bastian had told him, but no one misses him like Thomas does. 

Now that he's back in Munich, he misses him even more. He misses him in Bayern, he misses him in the National Team, he misses him when he scores and he's not there to hug, he misses him when he's in bed watching TV, when he's drinking bear, at training...

Thomas misses Miro and doesn't know what to do about it. Even if he usually feels better when he gets a text from him.

_I miss you Thom, can't wait to see you aga_

He smiles, at least Bayern's set to travel to Rome for the Champions League next week, this pleases him to no end. His phone rings again, he turns to find another text by the same man. 

_Again*_

He relaxes with a grin as he imagines his boyfriend struggling with his phone. 

 

* * *

 

  * **Oct 17, 2014**



He wants to call him, he checks the time. 

11:34 p.m.

It's so late, why does he go to bed so early? But the last thing Thomas wants to do is annoy him. He could text prank Manu, but since he's already done it 5 times this month he'd obviously know it's him. He grumbles, he doesn't want to go to bed yet.

He sighs as he opens Twitter, checks the usual mentions. He doesn't understand all the languages his fans tweet him even if he loves receiving their feedback. He sighs again, he's terribly bored. Maybe he could prank Fips? No, he'd probably screech at him. Maybe Twitter's got something? As the discovery tab opens, he can almost hear Philipp's words warning about the crazy content the internet world holds. 

But at this point, he'll take anything to get out of this boredom. 

He scrolls down at some Cristiano posts, some Messi posts, the usual. His face lights up at the golf posts. It's like Twitter knows his interests! But then acknowledges the fact the people he follows may have to do with what's on his discovery feed.

Hey! There's a post with top 10 underrated players, and his picture is on it. It's a picture from the FIFA world cup, his thoughts travel to the summer, where they won the cup. He smiles at the memory of Miro jumping on him, rain pouring on their faces. The time when his face found a clash with a shoulder and Miro was the first one to notice and take care of him, calming him down from all the blood. His heart feels so warm, he needs to thank Miro again for that one. 

He scrolls down fast, ignoring most of the stupid transfer rumors. Marco to Real Madrid, Mats to Manchester United... Until... He stops, and quickly goes back up to read one the tweets he missed.  His eyes lock on a the words Lazio and Klose, this should be interesting. Anything Miro being mentioned is worth reading. 

He stops at the headline. _Lazio Striker Klose Set For Bundesliga Return._ Thomas stares at the tweet for a few good minutes rereading the title.

Bundesliga?

His heart starts beating faster. Even if he's not in Bayern, Miro being in the league means _at least_ twice per season they'd be able to be on the same field. _The same field_. And he's not even thinking about the possibilities of seeing each other would increase. He wouldn't even care if he joined Dortmund. He would be there. 

He clicks on the link leading the internet browser to open on his phone. The page stays white for a moment, then a message pops up.

 _T_ _his site is not supported for mobile version, we apologize_ , you're kidding me, Thomas thinks. 

He has to see what this Bundesliga thing is about. His body jumps off the bed to get his laptop, and opens it a bit too fast. Google Chrome finally manages to open. He types the URL from the tweet, and the screen finally loads. His eyes open wider. 

Thomas' focus is first at the beautiful picture the article picked. He's basically drooling at it. Miro is wearing that light blue jersey that fits him so well (even if Thomas reminded Miro the Bayern jersey looked _very much_ nicer on him every time he could). His hand on his chest, head tilted right, he looks as handsome as always.

He reads the article and stops at the name  _Bayern Munich._ He's screaming internally, or so he thinks, until he hears himself squeaking. Not only Miro could come back to the Bundesliga, no, it's much better: He could return to Bayern, which means, he could return to Thomas. It takes him a moment to process the information, transfer rumors are usually full of crap, but this one sounded so real right? He means, why wouldn't Bayern want Miro? The guy is a living legend, and why wouldn't Miro agree? It meant being in his right colors and with his lovely boyfriend, winning trophies.

He has to tell someone or he's going to burst. 

He texts Manu first, and then Basti. They both need to know about this and give him their opinion. 5 minutes pass and no reply.

Thomas is too happy to care however. After closing his laptop, he rushes to the window. The sky is very dark, sign that winter is coming soon and for the first time, he can't wait for the transfer window.

"Miro's actually coming home to me." He whispers.

He looks up to find the moon, if Miro didn't go to bed at the dawn of day, he'd probably be looking at the same moon. Thomas smiles at the thought of seeing his beloved everyday. _Everyday_. He wants to laugh, scream, run around and roll on the ground. It's even worse than when he scores. 

He gives another look at his phone, still no reply from his friends. Annoying. Thomas Müller does not simply keep things to himself, especially when they are this big. He looks at the time. It's 12:03 a.m. He glances again at his phone.

No.

Miro would probably kill him, then again, he would have to come to Munich to murder Thomas, and that doesn't sound like such a bad idea. He gives in and opens his recent calls and taps on his name. The phone is ringing. The familiar voice picks up and Thomas feels in heaven.

"--Thomas? Have you seen the time? Is... everything okay?" His voice is sleepy and soft, Thomas suddenly feels guilty for waking him up.

"Oh Miro, I'm sorry I woke you up. I just needed to hear your voice."

"You... didn't wake me up." He yawns and Thomas knows he's lying, but Miro continues "What's up?"

"I love you." Thomas exclaims. He hears Miro give a gentle laugh.

"Thomas Müller, you are the most original person I've ever-" 

"I knoooow, I'm the most original person you've ever _ever_ met. Also the most talkative, the most loud..."

"The most original person I've ever  _loved._ I can't say I'm surprised you thought of calling me right now." 

Thomas smiles greatly at his words,

"And it's almost next week, feels like forever though." Miro complains, which reminds him of his discovery. 

"I know about the transfer." He lets out, without even thinking.

"Huh?" Miro sounds half surprised, half asleep, but maybe he's just keeping it secret so he can surprise Thomas later, "What are you talking about?" 

"You can drop the act Miro, I saw on twitter, Bayern's buying you back from Lazio! You know, our Bayern! Aren't you excited!?" 

There's silence on the line, and the smile on Thomas' face slowly begins to fade. 

"Miro? You're excited, aren't you?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

"What?" 

"Where did you see that again?"

"Twitter, I told you." 

"Huh, I don't really remember which one that one is. Is it reliable?"

"Well, not all, but this one is true though, right? You're coming back to... me." Thomas needed him to come back. It took a moment for Miro to start. 

"You know as well as I do that sometimes pages make up stories..." His stomach shrank as he continued. "How many times have they said you're moving to the Premier league? How many times..." Thomas' images of Miro wearing the new Bayern jersey dissipate in his mind as his boyfriend goes on. 

"Thomas?" His voice brings him back. He swallows slowly as he can feel his throat dry up a bit.

"Did Bayern offer you anything?" He asks coldly. Transfer rumors had to come out of somewhere, anywhere, right?

"Thomas, please." 

"Answer me!" Thomas didn't mean for his reply to sound so mad, alas, it did. 

"Even if they had, I'm too old for Bayern, you know this. Do you honestly see me playing in Pep's lineup? They need people like you, young and fast. Talented people. The kind of people who can score a lot of goals, or assist."

"You're the world top scorer! What are you talking about!" He's practically yelling at this point.

"Thomas..."

"They did, didn't they! You just don't want me near you!" He selfishly claims as he can feel the tears coming out of his eyes. He dries them automatically. He doesn't even mean any of what he's saying, but he's so mad. He's tired of missing him all the time. 

"I don't think you believe that yourself." Thomas notices his tone is deeper than usual, "I miss you terribly too Thomas... I wish I was younger to play with you, but I'm not Thomas, I'm not. I'm retiring soon."

"I wish you were younger too." Thomas pouts out. There's a silence again, until Miro's voice starts again, clearly surprised. 

"You do?" 

Thomas realises what his words sounded like, but no, he was just following his logic! He wants to tell Miro there's no one else more perfect for him, regardless of their age gap. Miro's always worried about it, it took Thomas forever to get the elder to admit his feelings for him, as obvious as they were. But Thomas didn't mind. He should know that, it's something they agreed on when they started this entire relationship. But his mouth doesn't open. 

"It's late, I think we should talk tomorrow." Miro starts, clearly disappointed. "Night, Thomas." 

"Wait Mir-" He starts but the phone line goes dead.

This is when the tears really start coming, but again he manages to dry them off. What had gone from an euphoric night had now become a tragedy. He crawls into his bed with his heart aching. He looks at his phone at the last number dialed.

Talk tomorrow? He can only hope tomorrow will be a better day, where things will be fixed. 

_They have to be better._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bayern travels to Rome for the game from the UCL, which means Thomas will finally see Miro,  
> will he able to fix things?

"Thomas, is everything okay?" 

Thomas' eyes open at Mario who's sitting next to him. The last image he had was Manu sitting there, he looks around to find him with Fips. Back to his friend who's eating a pretzel, typical Götze, he replies.

"What makes you ask?" 

He's not really in the mood for this. He's talked to Miro in the past few days, but nothing really special. Quite the opposite really, Miro's been distant and it's all Thomas' fault. He had apologized for the things he said and Miro had told him not to worry, but he knew him better than that. He was fully aware of Miro's skepticism to his age. All the confidence he had tried to build the past years had all crumbled when he said those words.

_"I wish you were younger too."_

Now they were on their way to Rome, to play Miro's rival team. He admits he should be more excited than he is, but he's scared. He's terrified. What if Miro got mad at him enough to stop things between them? No, he wouldn't let Miro get away like that. He loves him way too much. You're supposed to fight for who you love, and Thomas can't think of anyone else worth the fight.

He looks at Mario who's half waiting a reply, half eating the rest of his pretzel. He's glad to be interrupted by Bastian who happens to walk down the plane isle.

"Super Mario, can you give us a moment?" He asks the young man who nods at the last bite. He gets up to make room for Bastian.

After a moment of silence, Bastian finally speaks up, not even looking at Thomas.

"Are you gonna sulk all or are you going to tell me what's wrong.". 

"I'm fin-"

"You haven't talked about horses in two days, or about anything really, don't you dare tell me you're fine. Also, you need to explain this."

He shows him the text Thomas sent him two days ago.

_Thomas - ASFJSDFA BASTI I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING GET UP YOU SLEEPY HEAD CALL ME ASAP !!!_

"I.. told you it's nothing." Thomas tries to brush off but it's useless. 

"Having an euphoria attack at 11:30 pm doesn't sound like nothing, Manu told me he got a similar text. Come up, I'm your friend. Tell me."

Thomas hesitates. 

"I screwed up... I... Would you get mad at Lukas if he got offered to come back to Bayern and... didn't?"

"Bayern's bringing Miro back?" Bastian seems surprised. How did he know?

"No, no. I thought they had, I saw a thing on twitter that said they did, and I kinda got mad when I realised it wasn't true and took it off on him."

"I don't think Miro would take it personally though, I mean he  _is_ the one who puts up with your temper on a regular basis."

Thomas gives a look to his friend who shrugs. 

"It's not that, I told him something I didn't mean."

"Well?" Bastian is waiting for him to continue, but it's so hard for Thomas to repeat his own words. He's honestly ashamed of himself. 

"I... He told me he was too old for Bayern, and I agreed, I told him I wished he was younger."

Bastian nods slowly processing the information. 

"You know how I've dealt all these years with Lukas so far away? I tell myself that each day is a day closer to seeing him again, so it makes it easier. Each day is closer to having him in my arms. And those moments make everything magical. He's worth the wait."

Thomas looks at him. He's right. He's been so selfish, Miro may be far away, but he's still his Miro, and the moments they spend together don't compare to anything else he's ever felt before. 

"You need to talk to Miro, properly. Tell him you didn't mean that, because you don't." 

Of course he didn't. Miroslav is perfect just the way he is for Thomas, it's always been this way. 

"Thanks Basti." He smiles at his friend. "I have an idea." 

* * *

The game is amazing. Everyone gives their best performance, giving Bayern a wonderful lead. The score ends 7-1, and it throws him back to the summer. The game where Miro beat Ronaldo's record to become the world's top scorer. He even helped with a penalty kick. The cherry on the cake is that they beat Roma. The only team worth mentioning here is Lazio, he mentally though. 

After the final whistle blows, Thomas imagines Miro in the crowd. They had agreed to meet up at the end of the game, after Miro claiming he wouldn't want to be the reason to distract Thomas. Little did the Pole know that his mind was always on his. He rushes out of the pitch to the lockers before anyone else did. He showers as fast as he can without slipping. He has to look amazing for Miro. He puts on his finest set of clothes he had brought with him and a brand new lotion he had bought last weekend. 

After jogging his way to the waiting room, he opens the door. No sign of Miro. He sighs. He probably had hurried a bit too much: no one but security is here. He sits down and opens his phone. No texts from Miro either. He looks up to find managers from the team passing in front of him. Security is obviously going to let Miro in, he had been once a Bayern player, they know him. Only Bayern staff is allowed, which includes old players. Speaking of old players...

"Thomas." 

He turns automatically at the sound of his name but to find a familiar face. 

"Mario!" What on earth is he doing there? 

"I thought I'd drop by and say hi to the club, Florence isn't that faraway. You know how much it meant to me.."

Thomas nods slowly as his friend sits next to him. Something about the way he said the last sentence throws him off. 

"So... what's up?" Mario starts, scooting closer to Thomas. They used to do this all the time, but for some reason, since the last International call up, Thomas feels rather uncomfortable. He tries to hide it though, he gives him a smile.

"We just trashed Roma, did you watch? Lazio is this place's team!" He proudly says.

"Lazio?" Mario looks down, Thomas notices his expression has turned to an annoyed one. "Bayern won, not Lazio... " 

Thomas doesn't know what to reply, so instead turns to find Philipp and Manu coming out of the dressing room, giggling. Something is up with those two. He wants to leave, find Miro and talk him down. He needs to talk to him. 

"You look..." Thomas turns back to Mario. Is he  _blushing?_ "Nice." He adds.

Why is he blushing?

They've known each other for quite a while now, even if they don't see each other often, Thomas has always considered him a very good friend. He stands up before he can say anything else, but his friend follows him.

"You too!" He replies.

He looks like he's about to say something but Thomas focuses behind him. Bastian is coming out of the dressing room with a bottle of water in his hand. The man turns to Thomas, with eyes wide opened. He waves hello. Why is Bastian waving hello to him? 

He realises he's waving at someone behind him, he turns around to find Miroslav in a dark sweater and a scarf. His heart starts beating faster and faster. His mind goes to what Bastian said on the plane. What he's feeling right now is definitely worth the wait. Bastian is hugging him and Thomas can't wait to do the same. 

Mario seems to notice the stupid smile on his face. The man puts a hand on his shoulder, which obliges Thomas to move his eyes off his boyfriend to look at his friend.

"Lazio? _Really?"_

Thomas doesn't know what to reply, he wonders if Mario knows about him and Miro. Of course he knows, even if they have kept it a secret for a long time, it's pretty obvious to tell. He's surprised to media hasn't figured it out yet. 

"Mario Gomez!" Thomas hears Miro's voice coming from behind. The grip Mario has on him automatically weakens. He turns to find Miro with the most natural smile he's ever seen.  "It's so nice to see you here." 

Mario focuses his attention on Thomas. 

"The Fiorentina guys are hosting a party tonight, I was going to invite you to come over, it'll be fun, just like the good old days." 

He opens his mouth but Miro beats him to it. "Thomas needs to rest from the game, I'll be sure to get him safely to his best." 

If Thomas didn't know better, he would have swore there was a hint of bitterness in his tone, but when Miro grabs his arm and pulls him away, he realised what this was about. He gets into his car, away from the fans without saying a word. As soon as they leave the stadium, Thomas looks at Miroslav. 

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

The Pole rises an eyebrow at Thomas, who can only appreciate how well he looks with a scarf. 

"Well?" The younger asks with a laugh between his teeth. He had been so jealous, he's sure of it, but when Miro sighs he's scared he might be wrong. 

"So how was the flight?" 

"Good, I guess." He sighs himself at the stupid topic conversation. How was he even going to get Miro to forgive him. "Where are you taking me?" He tries.

"Um, I've got some training tomorrow early... But you're free tomorrow right?" 

Pep had indeed given the team the next day off before returning to Munich. He feels his heart heavy at the suggestion, though. Expecting Miro to stay the night was pushing it a bit though. He realises they're in front of the hotel line Bayern always stays at. He doesn't want to get out of the car, not now.

"Miro.." He starts. 

"It's not because... of that, I promise." His boyfriend cuts him off, giving him a reassuring smile that has no effect on Thomas. 

"Miro, I'm sorry about Friday, I don't want you to be younger." 

The older gives him a surprised look for a split second, which switches back to his smile. He loves it when Miro smiles.

"About that.." Miro starts, and Thomas' heart feels like it's going to explode. "I think you're right, I am too-" 

He's stopped by Thomas' lips. the younger had managed to move his body into the driver's seat, comfortably sitting next to Miro. His hands find their way into his hair as Miro smiles into the kiss. Thomas pulls away and puts a finger on his lips. 

"No more rubbish. I love you, and that's all that matters." 

Miro's icy blue eyes are locked on his own, he wants to stay in them forever. He leans softly to give him another peck. 

"Long distance relationships are hard, I mean have you thought about it? You have to resort to tons of text messages and voice calls, and for it to work, we both have to be serious about it. Not to mention time goes by 10000 times slower when you're not around, or the fact the internet can be a nightmare not loading your emails, or a blessing when we can skype. You're always on my mind, no matter what I do, there's always something that reminds me of you. Even seeing Lukas and Bastian at the national team makes me slighty bitter, all because it reminds me of you..."

Miro listens closely as his boyfriend speaks his mind and doesn't move. Both of their heads are resting on the seat and their bodies are almost on top of each other. 

"...But I've realised something, all of those things don't even compare to the way my heart bursts when I get to be with you, when I find myself in your arms or look into your eyes. It makes all the effort worth anything. I've learnt that love doesn't mean to be inseparable, it means we can be separated and I'll still feel my heart racing when you show up on my news channel."

"Thomas.." Miro starts. 

"No, let me finish, I was childish, and the thought of us.. not being together again scared me. I never want to think about that ever again. I wasn't focusing on how lucky I am to have you in the first place. I am, Miro. I am the luckiest man alive."

Miro's lips find their way to Thomas' who gladly lets him in. There's something about that kiss that lets Thomas know everything is going to be okay. They both pull away as Miro sadly adds.

"I really want to stay."

He kisses his boyfriend again. 

"But I'm needed at Lazio tomorrow morning, I tried getting out of it but there was no way. At least it starts early... I'll see you after it?"

"Does that mean I'm allowed to go to Mario's party tonight?" 

"Don't push it buddy." He teases as Thomas laughs. 

* * *

An hour later, Thomas watches how Miro's car drives off from a distance. Saying goodbye was never a fast thing for them to do. This is perfect however, everything is going according to plan. While Miro thinks he'll be heading to bed, he'll get his stuff ready. He needs to go to the closest grocery store. He opens his phone and types in "Google Translate"

He stops the first Taxi he can find. 

_"Negozio di alimentari, eh.. per favore?"_

The Taxi driver has a slight amused look on his face, and replies to him in German, which makes Thomas thank all of the gods. 

"The groceries store you mean?" 

Thomas nods. 

He's going to treat Miro with the most amazing surprise ever. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter will have so much fluff you have been warned


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prepare for fluff x239523094852039452

Why is love intensified by absence? 

After showering and taking good care of his hair, Miroslav closes his locker. Training is finally over and he couldn't be more glad. Today is a special day. The thought of Thomas crosses his mind. He smiles. He can't believe how mature the young man can be yet at the same time still be such a child. It was one of the many things that attracted him to no end. He opens the door slighty to get out of the stadium before Stefano grabs his arm by the back.

"Miroslav! You can't go just yet. I need some help with something." 

Miro grumbles. He wants to spend the most possible time with his lover, not help his teammates... but he's too nice to ditch the captain.

"I really need help to hit the ball smoother, like you do. You need to give me classes." 

Miro's a bit surprised. "I'm a striker Stefano, not a midfielder. I'm sure there's othe-" He tries to get out of it.

"No one's a legend like you are!" The italian explains cutting him off. "Come on," 

Miro thinks of Thomas, maybe he'd enjoy playing with him too. "I just need to call my fr-" 

"No! There's no time!" Stefano explains before he pulls Miro's arm. 

 

The man pulls him into the field faster than light and Miro tries to protest.

"Stef, I really had things to do can't we do this tomorro-" 

He stops at the sight of the person he last expected to see. Thomas.

He's smiling his usual grin and a warm feeling crosses Miro's chest. What on earth is he doing here?

"Surprise Opa! I thought I'd come and see you at practice and take you on the date of the year!" He lets out in a cheerful tone.

Miro can't help but give him a smile. He turns to Stefano who winks before leaving. He could run to Thomas' arms and never let him go. He's so happy. He could do that.. If Thomas hadn't thought of exactly the same thing first and jumped into Miro's arms before the Elder could even move. 

Thomas' weight is unexpected causing Miro to take a step back losing balance, finishing with both of them on the ground, Thomas on top on him. Thank god for the grass. 

"You're getting heavier" The pole teases, earning a pout from Thomas, but it fades when Miro pulls his head and kisses his softly. He simply can't resist being so close to him. 

Thomas helps Miro up with a blush on his face. "I've got a whole day filled with surprises planned out for us." He announced with a proud tone. 

Miro raises an eyebrow, but before Thomas can notice, the boy has already turned around to pick up a basket Miro had missed earlier. 

"I made a picnic too!" 

"What?" Miro's surprised. When did he even find the time to do this?

Thomas winks. "Today is our day, and it's going to be perfect. Put these on." He throws a dark scarf and a pair of sunglasses to him as he puts on his own. 

"You know, privacy." 

He pulls Miro's hand softly and they both walk out of the place. 

 

Miro steps outside the taxi. He had insisted they should take his car, but Thomas refused.

Thomas walks down the beautiful streets of Rome. It really is as flawless as described. A part of him understands why Miro likes it here. He brings the basket close to him and looks back at Miro who's gazing at him. It almost makes him blush. 

They stop at a fountain, where the crowd is gathered. Miro raises an eyebrow with half a smile.

"Trevi Fountain? That's a predictable romantic destination." 

Thomas opens his mouth. "I've always wanted to see it!" He stops at Miro who takes his glasses off and takes out his phone.

The Pole moves next to him and puts his phone up. Thomas sees the camera and automatically takes his glasses off as well. He copies Miro's smile and hears the phone take a picture. Miro looks at his phone with a tender look. 

"Since when do  _you_ do selfies?" Thomas teases him, to which Miro simply shrugs. "I like having pictures of us." 

Thomas smiles and leans in to land a soft kiss on Miro's cheek. Now he's the one who's blushing. 

"I'm hungry" Thomas points out. 

"We should probably have lunch." Miro agrees. 

They walk up some stairs and sit on a bench. Thomas looks into his basket. His expression quickly changes to a worried look. 

"What on earth?" 

He takes out his hand a piece of chicken soaked in a liquid. Miro is confused. Thomas starts cursing the basket, he puts it on the floor and kneels next to it. 

"It's all ruined!" He cries out. 

Miro kneels next to him and takes a look inside. There's a couple of bottles of beer. One of them is opened and half empty. The food in the basket inside is soaked in beer. He even manages to see a small cake. Why didn't Thomas use bags or toppers? 

"I cooked everything this morning for the perfect date and it's all ruined! I have no idea how that bottle opened on it's own. I'm so useless." He whines. Thomas' voice is shaking. 

Miro looks to his side and puts a hand on the back of his neck. He can barely believe Thomas took time to cook. He's intrigued and incredibly thankful he didn't burn the kitchen down. 

But Thomas is too upset to appreciate Miro's thankful look. He ignores the touch and angrily gets up. Miro watches him and then his eyes travel back to the basket. 

"Well it's only beer.." He starts. He pulls his hand into the basket and pulls out a chicken piece. Thomas watches with his mouth open in surprise Miro taking the bite to his mouth.

"It's good." He finally says after swallowing. Thomas' expression has calmed down. Maybe everything wasn't ruined after all. Miro pulls out another bite and swallows it again. "You should try it." 

Thomas starts laughing at Miro eating chicken with beer on the floor of a random street in Rome. He sits down next to him. The tourists are walking by but they couldn't care less, they're eating chicken and beer together. Miro takes another bite and feeds it to Thomas who accepts the taste is amazing. It ends up being even nicer than what Thomas had imagined. Every moment with Miro is unimaginable. It's something he wouldn't change for anything. 

"Miro..." Thomas starts with a guilty look on his face.

"What is it?" 

"I have to admit something.." He looks down. Miro encourages him to continue as he puts another piece in his mouth. Thomas does the same. 

"I didn't cook this, I mean I did.. I did but Philipp saw me and told me I was doing everything wrong. He helped and it ended up more his food than mine... But I tried I swear!" 

Miro smiles and leans in to kiss his boyfriend.

"I figured. I think I sorta know you." He whispers between lips. 

 

 

 

"Santa Maria in Cosmedin? What on earth are we doing here?" Miro asks confused in front of a tall old church. 

Thomas giggles before he walks on. It's the late afternoon and the sky is starting to darken. Miro follows his boyfriend inside, and doesn't miss the opportunity to study the architecture. It's one of Rome's beautiful examples of beauty. He turns to Thomas who's gone. He moves through the crowd to look for him. No where to be found.

Typical Thomas. He thinks to himself. He decides to look at the final room and finds the blond standing next to a face shaped on a stone disk. It's round and there's a face on it. The mouth is open and there's a space there which lets the light see through. 

" _Bocca della Verità?"_

Thomas turns around and smiles. He's taken off his glasses and Miro does the same. They're alone after all. 

"I don't speak Italian remember?" 

"It means Mouth of Truth." Miro explains. He's heard of it before but never paid enough attention to actually figure out what it is. 

"I know." Thomas adds, to Miroslav's surprise. "It's why we're here. I read that it used to be a lie detector. People believed that the mouth of the marble face would close if anyone put his hand in it and told a lie."

"Thomas, I'm pretty sure an executioner would stand behind and cut their hands. Not the stone." He replies in disbelief.

Thomas laughs. "You don't have to believe in it, but I do." 

Miro gives him a light smile. Thomas Müller at it's best. 

"I've been thinking of trying it out." He adds, turning his attention to the stone, leaving Miroslav intrigued. Without a word his hand moves into the mouth of the stone. 

"Thomas!" Miro shouts, louder than he should, and he's not sure why. Even if he doesn't believe that a stone can move and _chop people's hands off_ , the possibility of something happening to his Thomas bothers him. The younger gives him a warm smile. 

"It's okay, Miro. I'm gonna be honest." The boy reassures him. 

His hand slowly touches the mouth and Miro sighs in relief. Thomas continues. "I'm in love." He starts, and smiles. "I've been in love with the most wonderful man I couldn't even have dreamed of."

He looks at Miro who's really touched and surprised by his words. Sure he's said it before, but now he understands why they're here. Thomas wants him to know he means it. 

"You're perfect just the way you are and I wouldn't change any moment we've spent together, they're all really precious to me. The age isn't important because our hearts love the same. I mean it. I'm sorry about getting upset earlier. It was childish of me. But I love you Miro. I really do." 

But Thomas doesn't see what Miroslav can. He doesn't know that he doesn't need a legendary stone. Miro knows he means it, he's always known.

"And I had this cheesy speech prepar-"

He's cut off by Miro's embrace.

 

"Miro.." He starts. 

"I know Thomas. I know, I love you too. I know I don't say it often, but I do. With all my heart. My heart belongs to you, and I couldn't be happier to share it with you."

The pair smile and as Miro pulls away, he notices Thomas' got his eyes a bit watery. 

"What's wrong?" Miro asks, shocked, wondering if he said something wrong. Thomas buries his face again in his chest and Miro can barely make out the mumbling. 

"I'm.. just so happy right now." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so sorry if i got parts of Rome wrong or something I'VE NEVER BEEN THERE my reference are movies lmao  
> hope you liked this though :))

**Author's Note:**

> the quote belongs to STEPHEN LEIGH, Speaking Stones :)  
> -  
> This isn't going to be that long, I just had that idea and felt like writing it, this is probably the chapter with most angst in it, lol, it's gonna get nicer.  
> THE RUMOR ISN'T TRUE LOL, i mean, it is that he's coming back to bundesliga, but bayern hasn't been the rumor.
> 
> i'd also like to thank Lu for your lovely comments and being an awesome person ok 
> 
> thanks for reading! :):)


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